Transition of Executive Director

The Outreach Foundation 

Nashville, Tennessee 

April 14, 2020 

Dear Partners and Friends of The Outreach Foundation, 

I am writing to inform you of the action of the Board of Trustees last night to accept the request of The Rev. Dr. Rob Weingartner that he be allowed to step down from his role as Executive Director and transition to a new role – for a period of five months – and then to resign from his work with The Outreach Foundation.

More than eight years ago, Dr. Weingartner shared with the Board that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  He has experienced a gradual decline in his physical and cognitive abilities, notwithstanding his vigorous efforts to battle the disease. Though he still has considerable capabilities, he feels it is best at this time to change his role with us. Beginning on May 1 and continuing through September 30, he will fill the role of Associate Director for Mission Identity and Strategy. This position will allow him to continue to contribute through writing, preaching, and shaping the vision and work of the Board and the Staff Leadership Team. 

Rob writes, “Being Executive Director of The Outreach Foundation has been the greatest gift I have known in forty years of ministry, but I have come to the place where it is clear to me that I can no longer serve effectively in this capacity. I asked the Board to take those responsibilities from me, which they now have. I am deeply grateful for their support, their affirmation that I still have gifts to share in this work, and for their invitation to continue serving Outreach through the end of September 2020.”

Commencing May 1, the Rev. Dr. Mark Mueller, currently the Director of Development, will add to his responsibilities the role of Acting Executive Director. A search for a new Executive Director will begin soon. The rest of our senior staff, as well as our mission and office staff, will continue their able and faithful work on behalf of the mission of Outreach.

I know that you will join with me and the rest of the Board of Trustees in thanking Rob for his nineteen years of creative and effective leadership, and in praying for Rob and Terry as they undergo this transition. This change occurs at a time when, along with the rest of the world, we face unique challenges to our ministry, and so we covet your prayers as well for the mission to which we are still called, of working with partners around the world in proclaiming and embodying the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

In Christ’s Service, and Yours, 

The Rev. Dr. Jack W. Baca, Chair 

Board of Trustees